Stress is as contagious as the common cold!
updated the 24 June 2015 à 10:58Can you catch the stress of your colleagues or a complete stranger? According to researchers at the University of St. Louis, the answer is yes – take a look at the explanations.
As we suspected, living among people who are stressed is not very good for our own emotional balance. A group of American researchers specializing in this field, shows that even a little stress can rub on family members, friends, and strangers. Here is how they found out:
They locked 3 strangers in a room and asked one of them to read a text to the other two. Point: The reader must act as if he is stressed (rapid speech, leg movement, tense breathing …). The two guinea pigs sitting listened and in turn began to show signs of nervousness and anxiety. Researchers also saw that their heart rate and cortisol (the stress-related hormone) increased. All this while they were sitting quietly watching a stranger talk.
If a stranger can raise this pressure, scientists ensure that you are 4 times more likely to catch the stress of people who are close to you (family, friends, colleagues …). It is transmitted through facial expressions, the frequency of your voice and even the smell of the person. It is not even compulsory to be in the same room to see these effects. Mothers took a stress interview while their children played in the next room. Once the test is completed, the mothers were allowed to play with their children. And it only took a few minutes for the heart rate of the children to start racing. For now, we do not know of miracle cure against this epidemic – except perhaps learn to remain calm for the good of all.
Source: Department of Psychology, University of St. Louis
Maureen Diament
